@HigherEdData Just read through your comparison. I think it’s fair. Our S19 can get all questions right on ACT practice tests but needs a little extra time per section. (He doesn’t have an IEP or anything, far from it. He just doesn’t test well when he feels rushed. He’s never had a problem finishing tests at school.) The Science section in particular is crazy. I think it’s 8 or 9 sections and, without a major plan on how to tackle it, he has a hard time finishing. He’s in all honors and AP classes and rocking his classes, so it’s not a content issue, it’s the timing.
The SAT reading is definitely harder but he’s been reading difficult texts and classic fiction in his classes for a while so that doesn’t throw him. Plus, in middle school, the advanced reading kids did a whole program called “word with a word” where the kids learned 500 stems and were quizzed weekly on their meanings, how to use them in words, and figuring out the context of them in sentences. His vocab is strong as a result. He’s currently taking Pre Calc H as a sophomore so he can handle either tests’ math section. He found the SAT math particularly easy.
It seems to me that most kids in the tippy top of test takers would do better on the SAT. If you have strong comprehension skills and math is your thing…AND you’re given 20 seconds more per problem…I think one would get fewer wrong on the SAT. While he could probably pick up the pace for math and English on the ACT, the Reading and Science would be rough for him to race through and get a super high score.